Well, yesterday was the second of a two-day worrkshop for Peer Support Students, and I must say it was rather fun going through the different stations our future juniors would be going through on the first day of school next year! There was absailing, and teamwork games, and class-control workshops, and the sort.
Well, to be honest, I never fully volunteered to be a Peer Support Leader. For one thing, I told my Pastoral Care Teacher that I was willing to participate ONLY if it wouldn't pose a risk to my Canoeing training (especially at this season, when the Round Ubin Race is just around the corner).
How did she respond? She went to the Year 1 Level Head and quoted to her my situation, and so she in turn told Mr. See to excuse me during the workshop.
Well, at least Mr. See didn't look like he didn't believe my side of the story. But yet again, he didn't look like as if he believed it either. Nevertheless, he, as well as Mdm Goon (who was visiting yesterday's Land Training), warned me that this may take up some time during the 1st Term, and so I had to make sure it didn't effect my other commitments (Canoeing and Prefects respectively).
They both had a point. Listing down my commitments, I have;
Acedemics
Canoeing
Prefects
Peer Support
(Christianity isn't a commitment: God isn't in my world, my world's in God!)
And the fact that I also want to pursue high roles in at least one of my commitments (Maybe a Committee Member in Acedemics, maybe Treasurer in Canoeing, maybe Chairman of a Committee in Prefects, etc.), I really need to plan out my time evenly. And I know I can't do this on my own, so through Christ ALL things are possible!!! Amen!
I think I better go plan out the rest of my holidays just to ensure there are no collisions or anything of the like. (I already have 7 Camps, 3 Smart-Formal Events, 2 Part-time Pay-free Oriental Jobs and a Race to attend through the holidays! May the Lord my God be with me in the excitement!)
Well, Psalms 5:12!!! God bless y'all!!!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Picking Up The Fragments...
Nothing much today, just that now I have regulars who drop by my desk for a round of Quixo. Oh, and also that Jonathan Koh participated in a kareoke competition today! That one was a rather entertaining event as he sang 'Gotta Go My Own Way' by High School Musical; for those who don't understand the comical part here, this song was originally sung by an Altoe teenage girl! And he struct every note correctly!!! I'm not making fun of him, but I'm rather much impressed with his talent (my mouth was dangling for half of the performance). Good job, John Koh!!!
Well, since there's nothing much left to say, let's do a few quizes.
http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/
Your results:
You are Superman
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
(That was just so coincidental... )
Your results:
You are Mystique
Click here to take the "Which Super Villain am I?" quiz...
http://www.blogthings.com/worldsshortestpersonalitytest/
href="http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_work/tests/career.htm">http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_work/tests/career.htm
Artist
Historian
Banker
Novelist
University Professor
Photographer
Vet
Paralegal
Graphic Designer
Online Content Developer
Webmaster
Producer
Managing Director
Nutritionist
Advertising
Nursing
You are very practical, and only act after thinking things through. You don't like being forced to answer quickly. You have to evaluate the situation completely. You make decisions based on what you can verify with your senses.
You like to be deeply involved in one or two special projects. You like to be behind the scenes. You are very logical and fair. You feel you should be honest with others and protect their feelings.
You trust your gut instincts. You are easily inspired and trust that inspiration. You are very innovative. You analyse things by looking at the big picture. You are concerned about how what you do affects others. You worry about your actions and the future. You tend to use a lot of metaphors and are very descriptive and colourful in your choice of language.
You are very creative, and get bored easily if you don't get to express yourself. You like to learn new things. You don�t like the same old routine. You like to leave your options open.
Mark 16:17!!! God bless y'all!!!
Well, since there's nothing much left to say, let's do a few quizes.
http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/
Your results:
You are Superman
| You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.  |
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
(That was just so coincidental... )
Your results:
You are Mystique
| Sometimes motherly, sometimes a beautiful companion, but most of the time a deceiving vixen. |
Click here to take the "Which Super Villain am I?" quiz...
http://www.blogthings.com/worldsshortestpersonalitytest/
| Your Personality Profile |
 You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming! |
href="http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_work/tests/career.htm">http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_work/tests/career.htm
You would be very happy in a career that utilised your level-headedness, and allowed you to work mainly on your own. You want a career that allows you to be creative, without having to be involved with lots of people. Some careers that would be perfect for you are:
Artist
Historian
Banker
Novelist
University Professor
Photographer
Vet
Paralegal
Graphic Designer
Online Content Developer
Webmaster
Producer
Managing Director
Nutritionist
Advertising
Nursing
You like working and being alone. You like to avoid attention at all costs. You tend to keep to yourself, and not interact much with the people around you. You enjoy spending time with a few a close friends. You like to listen to others, but don't like sharing much about yourself. You are very quiet and private.
You are very practical, and only act after thinking things through. You don't like being forced to answer quickly. You have to evaluate the situation completely. You make decisions based on what you can verify with your senses.
You like to be deeply involved in one or two special projects. You like to be behind the scenes. You are very logical and fair. You feel you should be honest with others and protect their feelings.
You trust your gut instincts. You are easily inspired and trust that inspiration. You are very innovative. You analyse things by looking at the big picture. You are concerned about how what you do affects others. You worry about your actions and the future. You tend to use a lot of metaphors and are very descriptive and colourful in your choice of language.
You are very creative, and get bored easily if you don't get to express yourself. You like to learn new things. You don�t like the same old routine. You like to leave your options open.
Mark 16:17!!! God bless y'all!!!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Colours of the North...
Played host to Tim for once. Now that he's shown me around at Lighthouse (of which I joined, but later left, both ways compelled by the Lord) I guess it's just for me to fufil his request to visit D.A.R.E..
After half a week's worth of grade-calculating, quixo-lending, course-atending, whiteboard-drawing, holiday-planning, whiteboard-erasing, re-paddling, subject-comparing, particulars-sorting and Exodus-assisting (Ooo, Exodus! I remembered Genisis to haave had been a failure last year, but Exodus was more or less a great improvement this time round! Good job, Marcus!!!), it was finally the weekends. And what better way to begin it than to continue my catching-up training with my new partner! A good spin with the New Tiger with backman Ting Wei, and I guess we've got ourselves a good paddling.
Then after training, I changed into something comfortable and made my journey to Suntec City, of which I did some window shopping to kill of the extra hour I had to wait for Tim and Samantha with. I was having fun viewing minature models of movie characters when Tim finally called and requested a good meeting point.
I told him to describe where he was ("Is there a map of the world on the floor?" "Yeah, it looks something like it... there's a red pillar in the centre of this place." "Erm, that pillar's gonna change colour, y'know." "Oh... Erm, yeah the place with the big coloury pillar."...), of which I promised to meet him there within 10 minutes (a promise I sheepishly broke when I passed by another replica shop filled with replicas of colonial swords and ball-bearing guns :P).
When I was within the area, I spotted the two of them at the 'red pillar'. I then grinned a little and sneaked quietly behind Tim before suddenly grabbing his shoulders and exclaiming, "Okay, so where do you guys want to eat?" I leaned on the railings of the pillar fountain like what they were doing, from the corner of my eyes noticing Tim staring at me. Then realising I was too soft at the 'so where do you guys want to eat' part, I stood up again and asked properly.
They replied with the casual 'I'm fine with anything' statement, of which I gave them a rough plan of what was available. Getting the same response, I decided to bring them to Subway, which was 6 floors directly under where D.A.R.E. was held.
We ate, and we chat, and we made many laughs. But soon after, we proceeded up to the 6th Floor Overflow room, of which along the way Samantha giggled noticing that Tim and I swivel and wieve our way through the crowds while she was simply walking straight through.
Once upstairs, we met up with my D.A.R.E. group (dg), CIA. I told them I brought some visitors, of which they said they could join them during the service. Shortly, Tim and Samantha noticed the loud music in the background, of which we all creeped towards the Overflow room. After much observation, I turned around and said, "Oh, don't worry; we're not late. It's just the rehersals." They both were slightly shocked but went along with it.
Later on, the crouds were starting to build up so they began a SMS competition while waiting for the service to start. We waited through the contest for another half an hour, of which Samantha met some friends from her school while Tim and I just lazed around at the counter.
Soon enough, the doors of the Overflow room swung open, and the trademark call of "DOORS OPEN!!!" surged through the area. I rallied the other two along and stayed within the current of youths until we were flushed at a good spot near the stage.
Samantha was looking through the instruments from where she was seated, and according to her there was apparently no synthesizer on the stage. Tim was also viewing the instruments, but with a different response. Being a very sensitive listener, he became concerned about the possible noise levels we'd be encountering during the praise and worship segment. So looking around, he asked where the speakers were.
There was one portable speaker a couple or more meters away from us, but that was facing towards the stage. What he needed to be more concerned about were the imbeded speakers on the ceiling. (Hey, these overflow rooms were built to ensure sermons reached every corner of the area: Can't blame them.)
But then again, these kind of ceiling speakers were definitely weaker than those you see in concert, and I doubt they'd be mad enough to raise the volumes up till nosebleed-sonic, so the matter was laughed off.
Within minutes, the service began and we started with singing of songs. Tim noticed that some of the songs weren't usual songs you'd find in worship sessions. I explained to him that the worship ministry in this Church had recently released their latest album, I See Grace, and so some of the songs would be from the album.
After lots of singing and jumping and 'saywhat, saywhat, saywhat-saywhat-saywhat!'s and 'who-OAH-oah's, Pastor Dan came to the stage and gave his little chat before he began his sermon. For today, he was telling us his stories of him at a Hillsong Australia conference which he accompanied Pastor Prince to recently and had just arrived back from.
After that, he was telling us of how he missed us all and that he loves to preach to his homeland. He stated here and there of how proud he was to be in such a Church and that he knew it was God's assigned blessings for us to be here. But soon after, we began on our sermon. The sermon was about the definitions of prase and worship, and also how it differs from definitions modern society creates.
A number of people believe that worship is just to surrender to the Lord any items that you may 'worship' more than you would to Him (time, money, addictions, etc.). But that's actually half of the story. God also gives us back something when we give Him our trust and praises, and these include blessings that are abundant beyond measure! But above all, He gave the very vessel that permit us these blessings: His one and only Son!
It was extremely funny, with the usual dosages of Greek and Hebrew words, hilarious explainations for certain definitions and even some participation from the audience!
After the sermon, there was a final song, followed by a final prayer, followe by the offerings, followed by the announcements, and then we were officially dismissed. The three of us went down to the main floor, where I broke off with them since we had our different routes.
On my way to the bus stop, I was thanking God that everyhting went smoothly and that things went rather well. The fact that I was respectively new to the youth service, although having joined the main service for three years or so, could only mean that it was truely by the grace of God I made it through to help guide Tim and Samantha along the way! Praise the Lord!!!
Well, I'd better rest today now. Just came back from main service, now I feel somewhat tired (Sunday's seems so beautiful for rest!).
Malachi 4:17!!! God bless y'all!!!
After half a week's worth of grade-calculating, quixo-lending, course-atending, whiteboard-drawing, holiday-planning, whiteboard-erasing, re-paddling, subject-comparing, particulars-sorting and Exodus-assisting (Ooo, Exodus! I remembered Genisis to haave had been a failure last year, but Exodus was more or less a great improvement this time round! Good job, Marcus!!!), it was finally the weekends. And what better way to begin it than to continue my catching-up training with my new partner! A good spin with the New Tiger with backman Ting Wei, and I guess we've got ourselves a good paddling.
Then after training, I changed into something comfortable and made my journey to Suntec City, of which I did some window shopping to kill of the extra hour I had to wait for Tim and Samantha with. I was having fun viewing minature models of movie characters when Tim finally called and requested a good meeting point.
I told him to describe where he was ("Is there a map of the world on the floor?" "Yeah, it looks something like it... there's a red pillar in the centre of this place." "Erm, that pillar's gonna change colour, y'know." "Oh... Erm, yeah the place with the big coloury pillar."...), of which I promised to meet him there within 10 minutes (a promise I sheepishly broke when I passed by another replica shop filled with replicas of colonial swords and ball-bearing guns :P).
When I was within the area, I spotted the two of them at the 'red pillar'. I then grinned a little and sneaked quietly behind Tim before suddenly grabbing his shoulders and exclaiming, "Okay, so where do you guys want to eat?" I leaned on the railings of the pillar fountain like what they were doing, from the corner of my eyes noticing Tim staring at me. Then realising I was too soft at the 'so where do you guys want to eat' part, I stood up again and asked properly.
They replied with the casual 'I'm fine with anything' statement, of which I gave them a rough plan of what was available. Getting the same response, I decided to bring them to Subway, which was 6 floors directly under where D.A.R.E. was held.
We ate, and we chat, and we made many laughs. But soon after, we proceeded up to the 6th Floor Overflow room, of which along the way Samantha giggled noticing that Tim and I swivel and wieve our way through the crowds while she was simply walking straight through.
Once upstairs, we met up with my D.A.R.E. group (dg), CIA. I told them I brought some visitors, of which they said they could join them during the service. Shortly, Tim and Samantha noticed the loud music in the background, of which we all creeped towards the Overflow room. After much observation, I turned around and said, "Oh, don't worry; we're not late. It's just the rehersals." They both were slightly shocked but went along with it.
Later on, the crouds were starting to build up so they began a SMS competition while waiting for the service to start. We waited through the contest for another half an hour, of which Samantha met some friends from her school while Tim and I just lazed around at the counter.
Soon enough, the doors of the Overflow room swung open, and the trademark call of "DOORS OPEN!!!" surged through the area. I rallied the other two along and stayed within the current of youths until we were flushed at a good spot near the stage.
Samantha was looking through the instruments from where she was seated, and according to her there was apparently no synthesizer on the stage. Tim was also viewing the instruments, but with a different response. Being a very sensitive listener, he became concerned about the possible noise levels we'd be encountering during the praise and worship segment. So looking around, he asked where the speakers were.
There was one portable speaker a couple or more meters away from us, but that was facing towards the stage. What he needed to be more concerned about were the imbeded speakers on the ceiling. (Hey, these overflow rooms were built to ensure sermons reached every corner of the area: Can't blame them.)
But then again, these kind of ceiling speakers were definitely weaker than those you see in concert, and I doubt they'd be mad enough to raise the volumes up till nosebleed-sonic, so the matter was laughed off.
Within minutes, the service began and we started with singing of songs. Tim noticed that some of the songs weren't usual songs you'd find in worship sessions. I explained to him that the worship ministry in this Church had recently released their latest album, I See Grace, and so some of the songs would be from the album.
After lots of singing and jumping and 'saywhat, saywhat, saywhat-saywhat-saywhat!'s and 'who-OAH-oah's, Pastor Dan came to the stage and gave his little chat before he began his sermon. For today, he was telling us his stories of him at a Hillsong Australia conference which he accompanied Pastor Prince to recently and had just arrived back from.
After that, he was telling us of how he missed us all and that he loves to preach to his homeland. He stated here and there of how proud he was to be in such a Church and that he knew it was God's assigned blessings for us to be here. But soon after, we began on our sermon. The sermon was about the definitions of prase and worship, and also how it differs from definitions modern society creates.
A number of people believe that worship is just to surrender to the Lord any items that you may 'worship' more than you would to Him (time, money, addictions, etc.). But that's actually half of the story. God also gives us back something when we give Him our trust and praises, and these include blessings that are abundant beyond measure! But above all, He gave the very vessel that permit us these blessings: His one and only Son!
It was extremely funny, with the usual dosages of Greek and Hebrew words, hilarious explainations for certain definitions and even some participation from the audience!
After the sermon, there was a final song, followed by a final prayer, followe by the offerings, followed by the announcements, and then we were officially dismissed. The three of us went down to the main floor, where I broke off with them since we had our different routes.
On my way to the bus stop, I was thanking God that everyhting went smoothly and that things went rather well. The fact that I was respectively new to the youth service, although having joined the main service for three years or so, could only mean that it was truely by the grace of God I made it through to help guide Tim and Samantha along the way! Praise the Lord!!!
Well, I'd better rest today now. Just came back from main service, now I feel somewhat tired (Sunday's seems so beautiful for rest!).
Malachi 4:17!!! God bless y'all!!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
She Shatters Chandeliers...
Wow, recieved my results for EOY Common Test. And I must say, the results were AMAZING!!! I truely praise the Lord for them!!!
Just to get straight to the point, I recieved a well and sturdy amount of points to get me promoted to pre-IB, and I guess that's all I need at the momment! Praise God for His blessings!!!
So just as much as I'd be celebrating with my family later on, I'd just post a music video I found recently. Yes, I'm aware it's the same song as those shampoo cemercials, but hey. The video's quite nice, or at least it's interesting for an artistic person like me. And the song itself? Hmm, I'd say it's worth listening to in my opinion. Good job, whoever the artist was (yes, I don't know who sung the song: how ironic :P)! Enjoy;
I am unwritten
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Oh, oh
I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten (continuous repeat, fade out)
Now to remember to bring the Quixo set I promised to play with Zeng Rong... (I told him I'd bring it when it was all over, and told him that 'it ain't over till the fat lady sings'. But now that the scores are released, I guess bringign the game has to follow...)
Luke 17:6!!! God bless y'all!!!
Just to get straight to the point, I recieved a well and sturdy amount of points to get me promoted to pre-IB, and I guess that's all I need at the momment! Praise God for His blessings!!!
So just as much as I'd be celebrating with my family later on, I'd just post a music video I found recently. Yes, I'm aware it's the same song as those shampoo cemercials, but hey. The video's quite nice, or at least it's interesting for an artistic person like me. And the song itself? Hmm, I'd say it's worth listening to in my opinion. Good job, whoever the artist was (yes, I don't know who sung the song: how ironic :P)! Enjoy;
I am unwritten
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Oh, oh
I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten (continuous repeat, fade out)
Now to remember to bring the Quixo set I promised to play with Zeng Rong... (I told him I'd bring it when it was all over, and told him that 'it ain't over till the fat lady sings'. But now that the scores are released, I guess bringign the game has to follow...)
Luke 17:6!!! God bless y'all!!!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Mourning into Dancing...
Well, I'm all tired and worn outafter today's training. Some can say I deserved it. So I'll just try to keep this post short.
Let's start with Sunday! Yeah, at least that gives a very happy beginning. It was both the outing day for AJ's group back in Lighthouse promised since the group was really fast in their study, and the party day for the Believers to celebrate the success of their (I take it I no longer have the rights to say 'our') latest musical, 'Thief of Always'.
It starts with me beign dropped of at Middle Road by my mom while she, Uncle Alex and both my sisters were on their way to New Creation Church. Journeyed my way to Prinsep Street, where I found the same ol' Prinsep Presbyterian Church standing like she used to.
Walking through (or more like 'stumbling through', with so much nervousness in my heart), and seeing that I was rather early, I decided to head to the Library to wait till the Main Service started. But finding out that the Library was still locked, I decided to tuck myself in the side alley of the Church where there was a bench swing.
Rocking myself to and fro, I tried my best to sing my nervousness away. I sang as much as I could remember of the songs from the Ron Kenoly tracks I recently bought, and soon enough after snging an average of 4 rounds per song, I calmed down well enough to get me walking properly again.
When I walked back into the main building, I saw that the Library was finally unlocked, and so decided to take refuge in there while I still could. I rested for a while and watched my watch closely to make sure I didn't miss my timing. And in a while's time, it was reaching to 9, so I went out and met Tim along the way.
We went up the building and sat along side Thedyus (is that how you spell it?) during the session. The sermon was about the disciplines required within worshiping God and was using the story of Moses' journey up and down Mount Sinai. I didnt really hear much about grace this time, so I must admit I wasn't able to catch much.
Once the main service was over, Tim went to the back to train a new techie while I stayed where I was for Lighthouse. Hmm, to think Eric would have trained me too if I stayed on. But I still know where God wants me to be, and so I shall follow.
After the worship session, the different groupswere dismissed for their lessons while AJ's group met downstairs before leaving for our outing. I heard many proposals through Tim, many about bowling or TCC or beaches, but this day was a different plan altogether.
This day, we were going to eat out at McDonalds! Heh, it was a good plan for many of us, but Zeik didn't like it since he had just eaten breakfast there. While AJ was taking down our orders, Zeik was bending his head away in preparation to puke at Thed.
During our meals, we socialised a bit and in the midths of the chat Zeik wanted to ask if we could go play billards at the billard station nearby. AJ soon agreed, and I agreed to chalendge Zeik. After finishing my apple pie and french fries, we went down and rented a table for half an hour or less.
Through the game, we (Zeik, spectators and me) had a great time and we soon tied in our winnings. But at around that time, it was time for us all to head back to Prinsep and call it a day, and so we journeyed back. Along the way, ___ talked with me about how I was doing and which Church I've moved on to, and so I told her about New Creation and D.A.R.E. and how God prepared it just right for me to come in.
Once we arrived at the Church, Tim and I went to search for the room where the Believers' party was suppose to be held. After much deduction, we found the room and so I tried to sit around while Tim searched for the remainder of Lighthouse members who were also Believers.
While being alone, I found myself leaning against a pillar in the room totally isolated from the pack. It felt torturous just to walk forward, and everytime I tried I ended up falling back on the pillar. In the end, I finally found grace with another table of Believers and sat with them as we all ate the buffet lined up for us.
Once finished with the main meal, I went on to the desserts and soon found myself stuck on the same pillar. By now, a fair number of the Lighthouse boys who were believers were present, and after awhile they called me to sit with them. I slumped myself on a chair and ate the remainder of my partially-crushed egg tart.
Soon, it was time to review the filmed version of the musical 'Thief of Always',and we all proceeded up to the hall to witness what we all looked like from the audience's perspective. After viewing what it looked like altogether, we proceeded with a little worship time with a few familiar songs.
Once done, Auntie Lisa gave us a short presentation on the aims and objectives of the Believers, and what was concidered achieved through this year. We then started our games session, of which was truely ripping fun and I must say I lost most of my nervousness through!
Before the games started, we were first divided into two groups, and then asked to give each group a name. The group I was in decided to call ourselves Milo, based on a regular catchphrase in the play, while the other group called themselves Soon Hock, based on what the nurse in the play tried to pronounce Boon Hock's name as.
It was also agreed within our group that whenever someone shouted, "Milo!", we'd all respond with a loud, "Marvelous!" (which was also blended in the catchphrase). And gradually in response to that, Team Soon Hock always responded with a "Fresh!" whenever their name was called. :P
Games included attempted re-enactments of certain scenes in the musical (which were fun to make fun of, since the actors we were using weren't the originals and more of dancers or backstae people!), quizes about the musical (which Milo ["Marvelous!"] had a great advantage in because most of the actors/actresses invovled in the question were in our group! :P) and even a 'pass the message'-cum-'sherades' game (which was extremely hilarious when you see people messing up while passing on the actions! My group even ended up composing our very own bhangra!)!
But after a couple or so hours of family entertainment (Which, I must say, was worth the effort! Good job, Shaun!), we closed in prayer and proceeded downstairs to finish off the buffet and feast on Uncle Collin's cake celebrating his child's 1st month! After much conversation and lollipops (hehe, we had candy for the winning prize, which both teams tied and both won!), we went our separate ways and went home.
Yeah, I must admit that Lighthouse and Believers were very nice groups to join and be with! I admire their hospitality and am willing to be called upon if I could possibly be of any help in the future! But as much as I'm grateful for them, God's prompting for me is to goto D.A.R.E., and please don't take me the wrong way but I'm excited to know what better gifts God has in store for me as I move on! Indeed, God will always love me and will never leave me!
Now for the sad part.
Monday. Well, I'll keep it shorter by just getting to the point. Monday was supposedly the extended deadline for the traning cards in Canoeing. You see, before Canoeing made a shutdown to give more time for us to study, Mr. Goh gave us cards listing simple drills we can do at home to prevent our fitness from dropping as much as possible. These included push-ups, sit-ups, running, back extentions and so on.
Beside each item, there was a quantity of how many of the item we were suppose to excecute. And beside these terms was a calendar of the entire period of time we'd shutdown for, excluding the exams itself. For every item we did each day of the shutdown, we had to mark it out on the calendar. And by the time we came back from exams, what should be expected was cards colourful with pen markings of mostly, if not fully, completed programmes.
And now the exams are over. So, what about my card? Well. My card. Let's put it this way: It's as good as white.
Well, as much as I did push ups and sit ups and running 2.4km once a week, the card still looked rather white with the many other items I missed out, and the number of days I missed them out by. That's as good as white.
And after secretly handing my card up after training to Eugine, who helped gave me a slower sentence by sliding it somehwere in the middle of the well-coloured stack (Thanks, bro), I quickly but calmly rushed back home and retired to my desk in great prayer that whatever Mr. Goh does or says to punish me for what I've done (or for this matter, what I've not done), I desperately wanted to cling on to the faith that God would still be there with me.
And that leads us to Tuesday. But before Tuesday's training is firstly school. Didn't recieve results today, but had a couple or so of briefings or so about what we'd expect next year as students. One of the things discussed was an Edusave test which promised that if passed, would garuntee my parents a smaller pay for school fees.
That made me look at the test more seriously. Normal secondary schools in Singapore pay roughly about $7 per month or so, as much as I've heard, and unfortunately for this case I'm not in a 'normal' secondary school. The school fees are as much as $300/+, and the priveledged lot are able to get through the fees well enough.
'Priveledged' is defined here as those who are rich or under programes that help to pay a portion of the fees. And as much as I'm in the Intergrated Programme, I'm still not a Gifted Education Programme student, nor a Music or Art Elective Programme student, and my PSLE score was still 260, 2 points away from an automatic application to the Edusave Scholarship.
And thus as far as the committee in charge of these payment priveledges are concerned, I am not woth the expense.
But PRAISE be to GOD, I have another chance! This scholarship will help my parents out a little more, and I am confident that God has lined it up perfectly as another one of His many gifts for me! And this means that by His name, His stripes and His blood, I can get through this test and claim my blessings!
But this excitement that relief was soon enough slowly died off when school ended and I proceeded to the MPH1 for Land Training. There as I was changing into my tangtop, Mr. Goh called for my name while looking down at the stack of cards in his hand. I said a short prayer, placed my clothes aside and made my way in front of him.
He looked up, and slit out my card from the deck, asking me if the crosses I marked meant that I did the excersize or that I didn't dot he excersize. I checked the tensions in my face to make sure I didn't give the wrong face, and I slowly admitted that it was the former. He then looked down and gave a short chuckle.
(Mr. Goh scolds somewhat like dad: both of them appear happy even when they're shouting and giving sharp comments. And also that they both don't scold that often, but that's not the point.)
He then commented on the lines of me givning him an empty piece of paper and chuckled again before sliding my card back into the deck and turning his attention to Mr. Ismail, who just entered the area at around the same momment. I took it that I was dismissed, and joined the queue of the chin-up bars.
When training started, Mr. Goh announced right after our Warm-up that he was greatly dissapointed that we did not do our programmes during the shutdown, pointing out a few particular dissapointments that included me and my 'empty piece of paper'. I bowed my head down while he was mentioning these dissapointments, but raised my head a little when I heard what he was going to do for running today.
He said he wanted us to run 10 laps on the track (that's 4km, for those who don't know) to see how fit we were in running. Good, I thought to myself. A chance to redeem myself. On Mr. Goh's mark, we jogged to the starting line, where we lined up with the C Division. And at Mr. Ismail's famous whistle, we dashed off for our longest dash since a month or two.
I ran at a good speed; although I didn't time myself,I was beating a good number of seniors and so I took it as a good sign. By the time we were done, it was starting to drizzle, so Mr. See asked us to proceed back into the MPH1. Inside, Mr. Goh was saying that our running was not up to expected and reveiled that today's programme was going to be the same programme as in the cards.
Again, although rather exhausted this time, I thought to myself that I could somehow make up for my 'empty' reputation by giving a good performance today. And so I did everything to my best, not that it differs from what I ussually do but that this time I had my cauntience of my killed reputation in my mind.
Once we all completed the programme, which Mr. Goh made us do twice each, everyone could point out thir own weankeses and strengths. For me, I was weaker in my abdominal power but stronger in my arms and legs. Nevertheless, I was well-relieved during warm-down that it was all over.
After training, I changed back into my dry uniform and bought a hotdog bun to nibble on before leaving for the bus stop. At the bus stop, I met up with Cliff and Abraham, who first greeted by quoting Mr. Goh's 'empty card' statement on me, but later commented that I was pretty fast during running, somewhat too fast for a blank card.
I smiled back, not saying much just in case that they were being sarcastic. At the same time, I praised the Lord that He gave me enough strength to go through today's training and out of it in one piece. It was around this time when I realised what the slow music in my MP3 were meant for. It was more or less a sense of comfort after a tough day of training: I even found myself skipping the fast-paced songs on my way home.
Ah, well. I'm just relieved it's more or less over. May the Lord be with me if there is more judgement to come next training (which is now Saturday this wekk, since Mr. See has to go for a meeting in school to decide a few grades here and there this Thursday). Now to look forward to the good things God's gonna bless me with: Tomorrow's Results' Day, so I'm claiming by faith that I'd get what I requested for!
Isaiah 43:2!!! God bless y'all!!!
Let's start with Sunday! Yeah, at least that gives a very happy beginning. It was both the outing day for AJ's group back in Lighthouse promised since the group was really fast in their study, and the party day for the Believers to celebrate the success of their (I take it I no longer have the rights to say 'our') latest musical, 'Thief of Always'.
It starts with me beign dropped of at Middle Road by my mom while she, Uncle Alex and both my sisters were on their way to New Creation Church. Journeyed my way to Prinsep Street, where I found the same ol' Prinsep Presbyterian Church standing like she used to.
Walking through (or more like 'stumbling through', with so much nervousness in my heart), and seeing that I was rather early, I decided to head to the Library to wait till the Main Service started. But finding out that the Library was still locked, I decided to tuck myself in the side alley of the Church where there was a bench swing.
Rocking myself to and fro, I tried my best to sing my nervousness away. I sang as much as I could remember of the songs from the Ron Kenoly tracks I recently bought, and soon enough after snging an average of 4 rounds per song, I calmed down well enough to get me walking properly again.
When I walked back into the main building, I saw that the Library was finally unlocked, and so decided to take refuge in there while I still could. I rested for a while and watched my watch closely to make sure I didn't miss my timing. And in a while's time, it was reaching to 9, so I went out and met Tim along the way.
We went up the building and sat along side Thedyus (is that how you spell it?) during the session. The sermon was about the disciplines required within worshiping God and was using the story of Moses' journey up and down Mount Sinai. I didnt really hear much about grace this time, so I must admit I wasn't able to catch much.
Once the main service was over, Tim went to the back to train a new techie while I stayed where I was for Lighthouse. Hmm, to think Eric would have trained me too if I stayed on. But I still know where God wants me to be, and so I shall follow.
After the worship session, the different groupswere dismissed for their lessons while AJ's group met downstairs before leaving for our outing. I heard many proposals through Tim, many about bowling or TCC or beaches, but this day was a different plan altogether.
This day, we were going to eat out at McDonalds! Heh, it was a good plan for many of us, but Zeik didn't like it since he had just eaten breakfast there. While AJ was taking down our orders, Zeik was bending his head away in preparation to puke at Thed.
During our meals, we socialised a bit and in the midths of the chat Zeik wanted to ask if we could go play billards at the billard station nearby. AJ soon agreed, and I agreed to chalendge Zeik. After finishing my apple pie and french fries, we went down and rented a table for half an hour or less.
Through the game, we (Zeik, spectators and me) had a great time and we soon tied in our winnings. But at around that time, it was time for us all to head back to Prinsep and call it a day, and so we journeyed back. Along the way, ___ talked with me about how I was doing and which Church I've moved on to, and so I told her about New Creation and D.A.R.E. and how God prepared it just right for me to come in.
Once we arrived at the Church, Tim and I went to search for the room where the Believers' party was suppose to be held. After much deduction, we found the room and so I tried to sit around while Tim searched for the remainder of Lighthouse members who were also Believers.
While being alone, I found myself leaning against a pillar in the room totally isolated from the pack. It felt torturous just to walk forward, and everytime I tried I ended up falling back on the pillar. In the end, I finally found grace with another table of Believers and sat with them as we all ate the buffet lined up for us.
Once finished with the main meal, I went on to the desserts and soon found myself stuck on the same pillar. By now, a fair number of the Lighthouse boys who were believers were present, and after awhile they called me to sit with them. I slumped myself on a chair and ate the remainder of my partially-crushed egg tart.
Soon, it was time to review the filmed version of the musical 'Thief of Always',and we all proceeded up to the hall to witness what we all looked like from the audience's perspective. After viewing what it looked like altogether, we proceeded with a little worship time with a few familiar songs.
Once done, Auntie Lisa gave us a short presentation on the aims and objectives of the Believers, and what was concidered achieved through this year. We then started our games session, of which was truely ripping fun and I must say I lost most of my nervousness through!
Before the games started, we were first divided into two groups, and then asked to give each group a name. The group I was in decided to call ourselves Milo, based on a regular catchphrase in the play, while the other group called themselves Soon Hock, based on what the nurse in the play tried to pronounce Boon Hock's name as.
It was also agreed within our group that whenever someone shouted, "Milo!", we'd all respond with a loud, "Marvelous!" (which was also blended in the catchphrase). And gradually in response to that, Team Soon Hock always responded with a "Fresh!" whenever their name was called. :P
Games included attempted re-enactments of certain scenes in the musical (which were fun to make fun of, since the actors we were using weren't the originals and more of dancers or backstae people!), quizes about the musical (which Milo ["Marvelous!"] had a great advantage in because most of the actors/actresses invovled in the question were in our group! :P) and even a 'pass the message'-cum-'sherades' game (which was extremely hilarious when you see people messing up while passing on the actions! My group even ended up composing our very own bhangra!)!
But after a couple or so hours of family entertainment (Which, I must say, was worth the effort! Good job, Shaun!), we closed in prayer and proceeded downstairs to finish off the buffet and feast on Uncle Collin's cake celebrating his child's 1st month! After much conversation and lollipops (hehe, we had candy for the winning prize, which both teams tied and both won!), we went our separate ways and went home.
Yeah, I must admit that Lighthouse and Believers were very nice groups to join and be with! I admire their hospitality and am willing to be called upon if I could possibly be of any help in the future! But as much as I'm grateful for them, God's prompting for me is to goto D.A.R.E., and please don't take me the wrong way but I'm excited to know what better gifts God has in store for me as I move on! Indeed, God will always love me and will never leave me!
Now for the sad part.
Monday. Well, I'll keep it shorter by just getting to the point. Monday was supposedly the extended deadline for the traning cards in Canoeing. You see, before Canoeing made a shutdown to give more time for us to study, Mr. Goh gave us cards listing simple drills we can do at home to prevent our fitness from dropping as much as possible. These included push-ups, sit-ups, running, back extentions and so on.
Beside each item, there was a quantity of how many of the item we were suppose to excecute. And beside these terms was a calendar of the entire period of time we'd shutdown for, excluding the exams itself. For every item we did each day of the shutdown, we had to mark it out on the calendar. And by the time we came back from exams, what should be expected was cards colourful with pen markings of mostly, if not fully, completed programmes.
And now the exams are over. So, what about my card? Well. My card. Let's put it this way: It's as good as white.
Well, as much as I did push ups and sit ups and running 2.4km once a week, the card still looked rather white with the many other items I missed out, and the number of days I missed them out by. That's as good as white.
And after secretly handing my card up after training to Eugine, who helped gave me a slower sentence by sliding it somehwere in the middle of the well-coloured stack (Thanks, bro), I quickly but calmly rushed back home and retired to my desk in great prayer that whatever Mr. Goh does or says to punish me for what I've done (or for this matter, what I've not done), I desperately wanted to cling on to the faith that God would still be there with me.
And that leads us to Tuesday. But before Tuesday's training is firstly school. Didn't recieve results today, but had a couple or so of briefings or so about what we'd expect next year as students. One of the things discussed was an Edusave test which promised that if passed, would garuntee my parents a smaller pay for school fees.
That made me look at the test more seriously. Normal secondary schools in Singapore pay roughly about $7 per month or so, as much as I've heard, and unfortunately for this case I'm not in a 'normal' secondary school. The school fees are as much as $300/+, and the priveledged lot are able to get through the fees well enough.
'Priveledged' is defined here as those who are rich or under programes that help to pay a portion of the fees. And as much as I'm in the Intergrated Programme, I'm still not a Gifted Education Programme student, nor a Music or Art Elective Programme student, and my PSLE score was still 260, 2 points away from an automatic application to the Edusave Scholarship.
And thus as far as the committee in charge of these payment priveledges are concerned, I am not woth the expense.
But PRAISE be to GOD, I have another chance! This scholarship will help my parents out a little more, and I am confident that God has lined it up perfectly as another one of His many gifts for me! And this means that by His name, His stripes and His blood, I can get through this test and claim my blessings!
But this excitement that relief was soon enough slowly died off when school ended and I proceeded to the MPH1 for Land Training. There as I was changing into my tangtop, Mr. Goh called for my name while looking down at the stack of cards in his hand. I said a short prayer, placed my clothes aside and made my way in front of him.
He looked up, and slit out my card from the deck, asking me if the crosses I marked meant that I did the excersize or that I didn't dot he excersize. I checked the tensions in my face to make sure I didn't give the wrong face, and I slowly admitted that it was the former. He then looked down and gave a short chuckle.
(Mr. Goh scolds somewhat like dad: both of them appear happy even when they're shouting and giving sharp comments. And also that they both don't scold that often, but that's not the point.)
He then commented on the lines of me givning him an empty piece of paper and chuckled again before sliding my card back into the deck and turning his attention to Mr. Ismail, who just entered the area at around the same momment. I took it that I was dismissed, and joined the queue of the chin-up bars.
When training started, Mr. Goh announced right after our Warm-up that he was greatly dissapointed that we did not do our programmes during the shutdown, pointing out a few particular dissapointments that included me and my 'empty piece of paper'. I bowed my head down while he was mentioning these dissapointments, but raised my head a little when I heard what he was going to do for running today.
He said he wanted us to run 10 laps on the track (that's 4km, for those who don't know) to see how fit we were in running. Good, I thought to myself. A chance to redeem myself. On Mr. Goh's mark, we jogged to the starting line, where we lined up with the C Division. And at Mr. Ismail's famous whistle, we dashed off for our longest dash since a month or two.
I ran at a good speed; although I didn't time myself,I was beating a good number of seniors and so I took it as a good sign. By the time we were done, it was starting to drizzle, so Mr. See asked us to proceed back into the MPH1. Inside, Mr. Goh was saying that our running was not up to expected and reveiled that today's programme was going to be the same programme as in the cards.
Again, although rather exhausted this time, I thought to myself that I could somehow make up for my 'empty' reputation by giving a good performance today. And so I did everything to my best, not that it differs from what I ussually do but that this time I had my cauntience of my killed reputation in my mind.
Once we all completed the programme, which Mr. Goh made us do twice each, everyone could point out thir own weankeses and strengths. For me, I was weaker in my abdominal power but stronger in my arms and legs. Nevertheless, I was well-relieved during warm-down that it was all over.
After training, I changed back into my dry uniform and bought a hotdog bun to nibble on before leaving for the bus stop. At the bus stop, I met up with Cliff and Abraham, who first greeted by quoting Mr. Goh's 'empty card' statement on me, but later commented that I was pretty fast during running, somewhat too fast for a blank card.
I smiled back, not saying much just in case that they were being sarcastic. At the same time, I praised the Lord that He gave me enough strength to go through today's training and out of it in one piece. It was around this time when I realised what the slow music in my MP3 were meant for. It was more or less a sense of comfort after a tough day of training: I even found myself skipping the fast-paced songs on my way home.
Ah, well. I'm just relieved it's more or less over. May the Lord be with me if there is more judgement to come next training (which is now Saturday this wekk, since Mr. See has to go for a meeting in school to decide a few grades here and there this Thursday). Now to look forward to the good things God's gonna bless me with: Tomorrow's Results' Day, so I'm claiming by faith that I'd get what I requested for!
Isaiah 43:2!!! God bless y'all!!!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Going Down East...
Went cycling with Tim today. Never expected myself to be lagging behind that badly. :S But I guess it's because I've never cycled in a long, long time.
The day begins with me waking up at around 7.15 to quickly change into something light and packing my slingbag with snacks, an extra shirt and a towel. While packing my stiuff, my parents were suggesting that I organise an event of my own to respond to the many events of friends I've been going to.
I then explained to them that as a matter of fact, I was also thinking around the same lines. I have two proposals in my head to give to them, but can't seem to see which is more suitable, let alone which is more likely to be successful.
In Bid A, I plan to invite friends over to my place for a day to help me redo my room! This would involve the moving of furniture, 'part-by-part' re-assembling of my desk and even the painting of my remaining white walls with a shade of blue! The capacity has to be limited, though, since I wouldn't want too many people in my room. The only problem with this plan is that Cashew Heights is still under probation for En-Bloc sales, so it wouldn't be worth it if all the fixing and assembling and painting to not last even half a year.
And in Bid B, I plan to invite more friends to meet up at Bukit Timah Hill, where we'd spend the whole morning (and maybe a part of the afternoon if more rest is required) hiking on Singapore's highest peak! I could guide them to special areas on the hill which are extremely beautiful and which you'd never expect to find on this island, and the fresh natural morning air would do everyone good! The flaw in this plan now is that Some of my friends aren't really that keen in hard activities such as hiking, and wouldn't want to come. Then friends who would only go if these friends went would also back out.
Hmm, anyone has any advice?
Discovering that we didn't have anymore bottles of Ice Mountain water in the kitchen, I asked dad if we could drop off at a petrol station on the way to Tim's house to 'fetch some resources', of which he agreed to, and we were off.
Along the way, dad was teaching me about the market and how pricing of high-ticket items were judged by. Yeah, that's the good thing about dad: He teaches more than what you asked to learn, so you actually become more knowledgeable on the subject then you actually requested to! This is very useful as you never know when those extra details come in handy, and trust me I've already been proven that dad's abundance is always useful!
Say, this actually reminds me of our Heavenly Dad in heaven. He is always willing to bless you, and when you finally turn to Him for his gifts He'll pour out an abundance of it! Not just the measure of it, but an ABUNDANCE of it!!! Amen!!!
Anyway, back to today, dad soon arrives at Siglap, of which dad made a circle or two before we avoided missing the entrance. By now, Tim was calling me since I was 15 minutes late. By the 20th minute, I paced at Villa Marina's entrance and called him to tell him I was finally present.
He went out to greet me with a smile, one which I later realised my face never returned back, and we both went to his house so I could leave my bag there. Taking along with me a bottle of H-two-O and a munchy bar, I followed Tim down to the carpark to check out the available bikes for use (I don't own a bike, mind you, so I had to borrow one from his family).
Tim unlocked both his parents' bikes to see which were fitting for me, during which I was praying to God that I wouldn't mind embarassing myself, but as long as we could enjoy ourselves I'd be thankfully happy. After giving his dad's bike a spin, I chose it for my mode of movement, while Tim choosing, most sensibly, his own bike. We then took the lift up and cycled our way through to East Coast Park.
Along the way, we passed by a mosque which was celebrating Hari Raya. The atmosphere was very strong, and you could definitely tell how united the muslims were (on my way with dad, we both spotted an entire strech of road double-parked with cars!).
Once at ECP, Tim laid out options for our route: Left or right? I looked both ways blakly, then gave a mumbled yes before riding off behind him. Ah, yes, I tought to myself. A very fine day to cycle once again. Let's see what we've still got.
To my shock, however, whatever was still left was nothing much compared to what Tim already had. While I was struggling to keep up, he could easily dash ahead of me at will without realising he actually dashed ahead of me at will. And within a few minutes, my legs were starting to hurt.
I then remembered that I had just ran 5 laps on the Dam Wall at MacRitchie yesterday and so I'm still at recovery stage if my stretching wasn't done properly enough. Which apparently, it partially wasn't. Nevertheless, I gave all I could to keep up, sweating my paddles forward to as close as I could get the boat to Tim's.
Time after time, he had to circle back for me and then crawl foward, before realising he's overtaken again and cycling another loop around me, just so that I won't get left behind. Half of me was comforted with the fact that I was actually helping Tim with his routine by entending the trail everytime he loops around me. The other half is rather obvious.
When we finally came to the edge of the park, which wasn't exactly the edge but we stopped anyway since we were blocked by a costruction site, we rested for awhile so my legs and I could calm down.
"Man, it's definitely been a long time since I've cycled," I mumbled before taking a big gulp og H-two-O. Tim then comforted me with the notification that the other route mentioned earlier on would have been longer, so I was thankful to God for allowing me to take a better choice. We then cycled back down east and parked/locked our bikes up at McDonalds, where I bought myself a breakfast a couple of times much bigger than Tim's McSausage.
Tim stayed at our table to help chope (reserve) it, while I went throughthe queues to tackle my way for the most important meal of the day. When the food came, Tim asked how much he owed me, of which I accidentally tolm the truth of a bit over a couple of bucks. The thought of having the burger on my bill never crossed my mind, and I only realised it when I tucked the cash into my pocket, of which I concluded was a sign to show it was too late to insist. During the meal, we chatted a little here and there about current affairs and movies and cBoxes and so on and so forth.
Once done, we both got to our bikes to unlock them, of which Tim recieved message from Zeik that there was rain coming and that the event had to be cancelled all along. But from where we were, the sky was still a beautiful shade of blue and not a raincloud could be spotted. Until we stood up from the locks, that is, when a tree did not block our view of a rather big and dark one. But even that cloud was obviously very far away, and Tim and I agreed that it'll only rain by the time we finish.
We carried on our journey further east to see how far we could go till we needed to turn back home to arrive at what we arranged to be 10.30 am. Everytime Tim sped up ahead of me, I'd look down at my legs, of which a muscle would twitch from, a sign I've gradually learnt to mean, "Don't you even dare try."
When we estimated it was time to turn around, we could see an entire fleet of stormclouds heading towards us from North-West. But the sky still consisted mostly of the light blue of a beautiful morning at the beach, and so we still rode comfortably back to his house to end of the journey. Locking up the bikes back where they came from, we went to the appartment to tone back down.
"Announcing the arrival of two cyclists!" exclaimed a softly enthusiastic (Tim's) mom as we walked through the door, and after a few seconds the rain began to fall. The three of us were praising God in our own ways; one saying it aloud, one mummuring the agreement tones and one standing silent but with a thankful heart.
Tim's mom then invited me to use their bathroom to wash up in, of which I accepted. She brought me a guest towel, showed me to the toilet and gave me a mini-'guest tour' around the area. She was pointing out the different shampoos available. Once privately on my own, I locked myself in and did all I needed to (let's just spare the details, shall we?).
While bathing, when it was time for me to shampoo my hair, I tried to remember the characteristics of each bottle and brand. The most distinct of the bottles was a blue bottle that was supposedly pH-neutralised so as to suit many, if not any, forms of skin irritation. I was rather aware that Tim had a certain condition after hearing he needed medication during the OEP trip this year, but I never knew what condition it actually was, let alone what exact measures he took against it.
Neverhteless, I chose what I saw the most familiar: Heads and Shoulders. Once done with the soaping as well, which was made easier with only one bar of soap, I gave a final rinse and quickly went out of the shower to change into a new shirt and stuff. I tried to get out of the toilet when I was done, but accidentally forgot that it used a double lock. WHen I finally figured how to get out, I caught a slight glimpse of the family present giggling, something worth the disgraceful misguidance of unlocking a toilet door I guess.
I then observed around Tim's room while he had his turn of bathing. After a few more minutes, everyone was all changed up and ready to leave the house, Tim's family because they had to attend something of family affairs. We then proceeded down to the carpark as a bunch and drove off in their car.
They dropped me off at Kembangan MRT Station, where I stumbled my way to a west-bound train with pre-exausted legs. Instead of taking a simplified route of dropping off at Dover and taking buses back home, I decided I might as well get a haircut while I still had the time. Afterall, my hair was rather in a mess, and I had to clear it up before I returned back to school this coming Tuesday.
After trimming up at the $10 barber at Bukit Panjang Plaza, I bought myself a peanut butter pankake before walking back home for a nice and relaxing final bath and a good rest in bed. The afternoon was more or less topped off with a round of Rise of Nations for the first time in almost a year!
Highlights of the night was just me asking my mom of the possible opportunity prices that we'll have to pay if I wanted to learn an instrument, of which she said that both she and dad were willing to support me in these matters (music passion). How touching! But still, after she laid down the things I'd have to concider, which mostly consist of time management issues, I've limited my options to either the Guitar, the Saxaphone or my Voice. Gotta make a good choice, 'cause I'm willing for all three, but I want the one that'll have the best worth.
Anyone has suggestions in this area too?
Ah, well. Need to attend to other stuff now. Will leave you with this song titled 'Sing Out' by Ron Kenoly. (Yay for Soul Gospel!!! Man, after buying an approved collection of his hits, the songs are still paying in my head. Wonder how long this would last...)
Sing out
The Lord is near
Build Him a temple here
A palace of praise
A throne of thanksgiving
Made for the king of kings
Sing out
A joyful song
He’s love goes on and on
When praises abound
He’s glory surrounds us
Building His temple here
Sing out
The Lord is near
The Lord inhabits the
Song of His saints
And lives in their praises
The Lord inhabits the
Song of his saints
And lives in their praises
Sing out
The Lord is near
Build Him a temple here
A palace of praise
A throne of thanksgiving
Made for the king of kings
Sing out
A joyful song
He’s love goes on and on
When praises abound
He’s glory surrounds us
Building His temple here
Sing out
The Lord is near
We come to worship
Together as one
With Music and singing
Rejoice in all that the
Father has done
Let's lift up an offering
Sing out
The Lord is near
Build Him a temple here
A palace of praise
A throne of thanksgiving
Made for the king of kings
Sing out
A joyful song
He’s love goes on and on
When praises abound
He’s glory surrounds us
Building His temple here
Sing out
The Lord is near
Ezekiel 34:14-15!!! God bless y'all!!!
The day begins with me waking up at around 7.15 to quickly change into something light and packing my slingbag with snacks, an extra shirt and a towel. While packing my stiuff, my parents were suggesting that I organise an event of my own to respond to the many events of friends I've been going to.
I then explained to them that as a matter of fact, I was also thinking around the same lines. I have two proposals in my head to give to them, but can't seem to see which is more suitable, let alone which is more likely to be successful.
In Bid A, I plan to invite friends over to my place for a day to help me redo my room! This would involve the moving of furniture, 'part-by-part' re-assembling of my desk and even the painting of my remaining white walls with a shade of blue! The capacity has to be limited, though, since I wouldn't want too many people in my room. The only problem with this plan is that Cashew Heights is still under probation for En-Bloc sales, so it wouldn't be worth it if all the fixing and assembling and painting to not last even half a year.
And in Bid B, I plan to invite more friends to meet up at Bukit Timah Hill, where we'd spend the whole morning (and maybe a part of the afternoon if more rest is required) hiking on Singapore's highest peak! I could guide them to special areas on the hill which are extremely beautiful and which you'd never expect to find on this island, and the fresh natural morning air would do everyone good! The flaw in this plan now is that Some of my friends aren't really that keen in hard activities such as hiking, and wouldn't want to come. Then friends who would only go if these friends went would also back out.
Hmm, anyone has any advice?
Discovering that we didn't have anymore bottles of Ice Mountain water in the kitchen, I asked dad if we could drop off at a petrol station on the way to Tim's house to 'fetch some resources', of which he agreed to, and we were off.
Along the way, dad was teaching me about the market and how pricing of high-ticket items were judged by. Yeah, that's the good thing about dad: He teaches more than what you asked to learn, so you actually become more knowledgeable on the subject then you actually requested to! This is very useful as you never know when those extra details come in handy, and trust me I've already been proven that dad's abundance is always useful!
Say, this actually reminds me of our Heavenly Dad in heaven. He is always willing to bless you, and when you finally turn to Him for his gifts He'll pour out an abundance of it! Not just the measure of it, but an ABUNDANCE of it!!! Amen!!!
Anyway, back to today, dad soon arrives at Siglap, of which dad made a circle or two before we avoided missing the entrance. By now, Tim was calling me since I was 15 minutes late. By the 20th minute, I paced at Villa Marina's entrance and called him to tell him I was finally present.
He went out to greet me with a smile, one which I later realised my face never returned back, and we both went to his house so I could leave my bag there. Taking along with me a bottle of H-two-O and a munchy bar, I followed Tim down to the carpark to check out the available bikes for use (I don't own a bike, mind you, so I had to borrow one from his family).
Tim unlocked both his parents' bikes to see which were fitting for me, during which I was praying to God that I wouldn't mind embarassing myself, but as long as we could enjoy ourselves I'd be thankfully happy. After giving his dad's bike a spin, I chose it for my mode of movement, while Tim choosing, most sensibly, his own bike. We then took the lift up and cycled our way through to East Coast Park.
Along the way, we passed by a mosque which was celebrating Hari Raya. The atmosphere was very strong, and you could definitely tell how united the muslims were (on my way with dad, we both spotted an entire strech of road double-parked with cars!).
Once at ECP, Tim laid out options for our route: Left or right? I looked both ways blakly, then gave a mumbled yes before riding off behind him. Ah, yes, I tought to myself. A very fine day to cycle once again. Let's see what we've still got.
To my shock, however, whatever was still left was nothing much compared to what Tim already had. While I was struggling to keep up, he could easily dash ahead of me at will without realising he actually dashed ahead of me at will. And within a few minutes, my legs were starting to hurt.
I then remembered that I had just ran 5 laps on the Dam Wall at MacRitchie yesterday and so I'm still at recovery stage if my stretching wasn't done properly enough. Which apparently, it partially wasn't. Nevertheless, I gave all I could to keep up, sweating my paddles forward to as close as I could get the boat to Tim's.
Time after time, he had to circle back for me and then crawl foward, before realising he's overtaken again and cycling another loop around me, just so that I won't get left behind. Half of me was comforted with the fact that I was actually helping Tim with his routine by entending the trail everytime he loops around me. The other half is rather obvious.
When we finally came to the edge of the park, which wasn't exactly the edge but we stopped anyway since we were blocked by a costruction site, we rested for awhile so my legs and I could calm down.
"Man, it's definitely been a long time since I've cycled," I mumbled before taking a big gulp og H-two-O. Tim then comforted me with the notification that the other route mentioned earlier on would have been longer, so I was thankful to God for allowing me to take a better choice. We then cycled back down east and parked/locked our bikes up at McDonalds, where I bought myself a breakfast a couple of times much bigger than Tim's McSausage.
Tim stayed at our table to help chope (reserve) it, while I went throughthe queues to tackle my way for the most important meal of the day. When the food came, Tim asked how much he owed me, of which I accidentally tolm the truth of a bit over a couple of bucks. The thought of having the burger on my bill never crossed my mind, and I only realised it when I tucked the cash into my pocket, of which I concluded was a sign to show it was too late to insist. During the meal, we chatted a little here and there about current affairs and movies and cBoxes and so on and so forth.
Once done, we both got to our bikes to unlock them, of which Tim recieved message from Zeik that there was rain coming and that the event had to be cancelled all along. But from where we were, the sky was still a beautiful shade of blue and not a raincloud could be spotted. Until we stood up from the locks, that is, when a tree did not block our view of a rather big and dark one. But even that cloud was obviously very far away, and Tim and I agreed that it'll only rain by the time we finish.
We carried on our journey further east to see how far we could go till we needed to turn back home to arrive at what we arranged to be 10.30 am. Everytime Tim sped up ahead of me, I'd look down at my legs, of which a muscle would twitch from, a sign I've gradually learnt to mean, "Don't you even dare try."
When we estimated it was time to turn around, we could see an entire fleet of stormclouds heading towards us from North-West. But the sky still consisted mostly of the light blue of a beautiful morning at the beach, and so we still rode comfortably back to his house to end of the journey. Locking up the bikes back where they came from, we went to the appartment to tone back down.
"Announcing the arrival of two cyclists!" exclaimed a softly enthusiastic (Tim's) mom as we walked through the door, and after a few seconds the rain began to fall. The three of us were praising God in our own ways; one saying it aloud, one mummuring the agreement tones and one standing silent but with a thankful heart.
Tim's mom then invited me to use their bathroom to wash up in, of which I accepted. She brought me a guest towel, showed me to the toilet and gave me a mini-'guest tour' around the area. She was pointing out the different shampoos available. Once privately on my own, I locked myself in and did all I needed to (let's just spare the details, shall we?).
While bathing, when it was time for me to shampoo my hair, I tried to remember the characteristics of each bottle and brand. The most distinct of the bottles was a blue bottle that was supposedly pH-neutralised so as to suit many, if not any, forms of skin irritation. I was rather aware that Tim had a certain condition after hearing he needed medication during the OEP trip this year, but I never knew what condition it actually was, let alone what exact measures he took against it.
Neverhteless, I chose what I saw the most familiar: Heads and Shoulders. Once done with the soaping as well, which was made easier with only one bar of soap, I gave a final rinse and quickly went out of the shower to change into a new shirt and stuff. I tried to get out of the toilet when I was done, but accidentally forgot that it used a double lock. WHen I finally figured how to get out, I caught a slight glimpse of the family present giggling, something worth the disgraceful misguidance of unlocking a toilet door I guess.
I then observed around Tim's room while he had his turn of bathing. After a few more minutes, everyone was all changed up and ready to leave the house, Tim's family because they had to attend something of family affairs. We then proceeded down to the carpark as a bunch and drove off in their car.
They dropped me off at Kembangan MRT Station, where I stumbled my way to a west-bound train with pre-exausted legs. Instead of taking a simplified route of dropping off at Dover and taking buses back home, I decided I might as well get a haircut while I still had the time. Afterall, my hair was rather in a mess, and I had to clear it up before I returned back to school this coming Tuesday.
After trimming up at the $10 barber at Bukit Panjang Plaza, I bought myself a peanut butter pankake before walking back home for a nice and relaxing final bath and a good rest in bed. The afternoon was more or less topped off with a round of Rise of Nations for the first time in almost a year!
Highlights of the night was just me asking my mom of the possible opportunity prices that we'll have to pay if I wanted to learn an instrument, of which she said that both she and dad were willing to support me in these matters (music passion). How touching! But still, after she laid down the things I'd have to concider, which mostly consist of time management issues, I've limited my options to either the Guitar, the Saxaphone or my Voice. Gotta make a good choice, 'cause I'm willing for all three, but I want the one that'll have the best worth.
Anyone has suggestions in this area too?
Ah, well. Need to attend to other stuff now. Will leave you with this song titled 'Sing Out' by Ron Kenoly. (Yay for Soul Gospel!!! Man, after buying an approved collection of his hits, the songs are still paying in my head. Wonder how long this would last...)
Sing out
The Lord is near
Build Him a temple here
A palace of praise
A throne of thanksgiving
Made for the king of kings
Sing out
A joyful song
He’s love goes on and on
When praises abound
He’s glory surrounds us
Building His temple here
Sing out
The Lord is near
The Lord inhabits the
Song of His saints
And lives in their praises
The Lord inhabits the
Song of his saints
And lives in their praises
Sing out
The Lord is near
Build Him a temple here
A palace of praise
A throne of thanksgiving
Made for the king of kings
Sing out
A joyful song
He’s love goes on and on
When praises abound
He’s glory surrounds us
Building His temple here
Sing out
The Lord is near
We come to worship
Together as one
With Music and singing
Rejoice in all that the
Father has done
Let's lift up an offering
Sing out
The Lord is near
Build Him a temple here
A palace of praise
A throne of thanksgiving
Made for the king of kings
Sing out
A joyful song
He’s love goes on and on
When praises abound
He’s glory surrounds us
Building His temple here
Sing out
The Lord is near
Ezekiel 34:14-15!!! God bless y'all!!!
Friday, October 12, 2007
New Mate Onboard, C'ptain...
Ah, finally (haha) my first Canoeing training in a month! And rather splendid, indeed!
Starts off with me arriving rather early at the Chin-up Bars near the Paddle Lodge. Mr. See was sitting comfortably at the mouth of the pathway, and when I walked closed enough he quickly asked what the 'meeting' yesterday was all about. I explained to him the 'messed-up' Boardroom story from the way I heard it, and his mouth slowly dropped as I went on about the messy details mentioned. Apparently the jaw-dropping was more because he thought I was reffering to Dr. Ong's Boardroom, of which people would obviously get the slaughter if it was meesed up with 'tables overturned' and 'football marks on the walls'.
I then asked him when the Round Ubin Race was taking place, of which he said 2nd of December. I then asked about what the schedule would be like, and he depicted a full-day event, which he added is only 'full-day' because the judges would have to wait for the very last boat to cross the Finishing Line before they could actually start distributing the awards.
Seeing how intense the day may be, I admitted my situation: that is, as much as I was definitely free on 2nd December and was upmost willing to give the tides of the Straits of Johor a good tackle, I would be indeed arriving back to Singapore from KL, Malaysia on 1st December after a 5-day Encounter Jesus Camp.
Understanding clearly what this would lead to, Mr. See explained to me that there was certainly no worries on getting a place and a boat in the registration and at the venue respectively, and so the only concern I should be having would be if I was physically and mentally prepared for a sudden island-span current-tackling harshful-navigating race once my body get's intuned to a relaxing-hotel mood for 5 trainingless days in KL.
I suggested I did more push-ups and sit-ups, but he rebutted saying that it'll take as much as running to keep as much fitness as possible, something dependably hard to find applicable in an outskirts-of-KL hotel. He then said he'll ask Mr. Goh for advice to see if I'd be in good condition to race, at which I nodded in agreement and proceeded to do my chin-ups.
Ghah, just like many others I've lost a bit of strength after not training for a month. My chin-up max. number has drastically dropped, and I'm not in a determined state to believe in God that I can work my way back up to tiptop shape within a month or so! Fellow Christians, please pray for me! :)
At the usual timing the lot of us were given the order to launch, of which I along with a small group had to stay with Mr. See and Mr. Goh to see which boats we'd be using today. At the end o the line, I was permitted any K2 Tiger. Partnering Ting Wei.
Hey, cool!, I thought to myself. Another new partner to try! Let's see what he's got.
We both got our stuff and went to the Upper Sheds, where we took down the Old Tiger and re-configured her to suit our needs before heading out to the pontoon to launch for a rather easy programme to start us back to the training mood. On the water, I was thankful to God that all I could remember about paddling racing-style came back rather smoothly after 250 meters or so out at bay. Steering was more or less auomatic, and my feet knew what to do if I encountered obstacle-situations in the water, especially rescuing capsized boats!
After doing a few laps and beating a few K1s along the way (not much glory for a K2 to beat K1s, but it was nevertheless a good cheap-thrill to start the season :P), I was rather impressed with how syncronized Ting Wei and I were in strokes! Well, Ting Wei would need to work a bit more on timing, and I'd need to work a little more on direction-keeping, but I must say we were rather well-opperated!
After training, Mr. Goh also told me in person that he felt we were very good on the water. Ah, another possible new chapter in my Canoeing life, eh God? Let's see how this one goes...
Once the boats were packed up, we got our shoes on and went running. Ooo, running! A long time since I ran! (a week and a half, but hey!) And where else to run but at the Dam Wall! Haha, the puns were ringing along as we jogged our way to the venue. You could hear phrases like;
"Hey, where're we running today?"
"At the Dam Wall!"
"Dam it! Dam the Dam Wall!"
And we'll all be laughing at the puns we could make up. Once at the Dam Wall, we ran a few laps on the Dam. I came in 4th place! Just behind Neil, Sheng Yi, Ray and Lucas, and just a head of Ting Wei. Once done, we went down the Wall to do a Warmdown and Debrief before eing dismissed.
Decided to rinse before leaving MacRitchie, since I was really stenched with sweat. Rather cooling, but wasn't really worth the towel. Once at home, I rested in bed with satisfaction on how training went today for an hour or more before getting up to eat lunch, after which dad called home to tell me he has left a little assignment beside the computer.
I checked and found a new Samsung printer box ready for unpacking and assembling! Hey, there's more stuff to do! Yay, activities! Haha, at least I wouldn't be bored for the next half an hour or so. Reading the manuals and diagrams, I fixed the cords and wires and cartridges respectively and downloaded the software into the main house computer.
Once everything was assembled, I congradulated myself by not wasting the activation of the house computer, simply by watching a bit of Rowan Atkinson on YouTube. (Come to think of it, a better reward would have been to play Rise of Nations. Darn...)
Ah well, nothing much left to report, just that after dinner when my parents came home, my dad gave a good inspection of the printer and approved of it's standards (Yay, dad!) and also had a chat with mom over what I'd want to do when I reach pre-/post-/University. Apparently, my parents want me to take the Air Force course when I go for National Service, but I still want to go to the Navy. Hmm, wonder how this'll turn out. :S
Well, before I sign off, might as well be faithful of a friend's request, 'ay? Enjoy;
1. Time of starting This?
10.17 pm
2. Were you named after anyone?
Both parents, really. Rae came from the first half of my dad's name, and Miguel came from the fact that it started with an 'M' like my mom's name.
3. Do you wish on stars?
Absoultely not! I trust in the Lord my Heavenly Dad for whatever a want and need and get! Let me hear an 'Amen', p'ple!
4. When did you last cry?
About a couple of months ago, when I was told by my parents that if I couldn't manage my time properly I would be stopped from joining Believers. Apparently, though, I was soon prompted by the Spirit to move on to D.A.R.E., so it doesn't make much difference anyway. But as much as I'm enjoying D.A.R.E., I really miss the people back at Prinsep. I tell you, I have never met such friendly people since the time I visited Japan! But I know very well that if God wants me to move on, it's because He has something better in store! I just pray that I won't miss Prinsep too badly in the proccess...
5. What is your favourite meat?
FISH!!! Yay, fillets!!! Horah, sashimi!!! Bravo, broth-steameds!!!
6. What is your most embarrassing CD on your shelf?
I'm not sure about CDs. But for casset tapes, there's one with a recording of what I sounded like as a young kid. The unthinkable will happen if it fellinto the wrong hands... :O
7. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you?
Hmm, Mig seems like a nice person. I'm not sure, but he's always a kind person to others, and many a times talking about God's grace. Yeah, I guess we are sort of friends.
8. Are you a daredevil?
Depends, actually. I'd take my chances if it is really important to me that I do something particularly daring.
9. How do you release anger?
Complain to God. I'd just tell Him what's bothering me, ask for better alternatives and then end of saying that no matter what happens, I'm still aware that He's still got my back and is still protecting me. Usually works for me, ;)
10.Where is your second home?
I'm at the state where I'm more or less at the same level with all the societies I'm involved in, so I'm not certain of it now.
11. Do you trust others easily?
First impressions do count, but it's rather easy to raise my respect for a person, along with raising my trust.
12. What was your favourite toy as a child?
My security blanket was a bolster I named Finchy (which still sleeps with me to this day, come to think of it), but the toys I played with most were my building blocks. Loved to build things, then get the mega fan to blow it down and see which structures could resist the winds the best! Yeah, good childhood memories...
13. What class in school do you think is totally useless?
I have absolutely no idea.
14. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Time after time, I guess. Just to keep a slightly funnier athmosphere, supposedly.
15. Have you ever been in a mosh pit?
Wazzat?
16. What do you look for in a guy/girl?
Christ-centered, bubbly, supportive, very active and whom the love of God has favour with everytime I see her! Ooo, and if she's also genre-flexible and can sing, that'll be beautiful!
17. Would you bungee jump?
I made a vow that if I ever returned to Queenstown, New Zeland during summer, I'd give the jump a try. Wonder if I'll ever fufill the promise in my lifetime at all :p
18. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Nah, too troublesome.
19. What's your favourite ice cream flavour?
Chocolate Chip/Vanila Cream/Caramel
20. What is your favourite colour?
Navy Blue! All hands on deck!
21. What is your least favourite thing?
In my possesion? A particular book that is kept high up in my shelf. I plan to throw it away soon. Maybe rip it apart first. It contains something I'd recomend no one saw or remembered.
But hey, PRAISE be to God that he's set me free to this day, so I can spread the joy of God to those I meet!!!
22. What is your favourite number?
8, the number of new beginnings!
23. What do you miss most right now?
The friends I can really use for company right now. :D
24. What are you listening to right now?
Give to the Lord by Ron Kenoly. Yay, Soul Gospel!!! (Y'know, one thing I'd want to experience in my lifetime is to see an African-American Church chior perform some joyful gospel music! That'll just be so cool!)
25. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Navy Blue! All crayons on deck!
26. Whats the weather like now?
Dark and cloudy, but cooling nough for a comfortable good night's sleep! That's a good reason why I praise the Lord for this apartment: it's positioned in such a way that natural elements make living so comfortable!
27. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Tim, about meeting him tomorrow for a good mornin' round of cycling.
28. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Gentleness. :)
29. Do you like the person who sent you this?
Yeah, I respect him as a good friend greatly. :D My face is just too cold to show it. :(
30. How are you today?
Blessed and loved by God!!!
31. Favourite drink?
Ice Lemon Tea! It's such a favourite, I usually reserve it for special ocasions.
32. Favourite alcoholic drink?
White wine. Sweet-tasting, yet doesn't loose the warm effect wine should have. Cheers.
33. Natural hair colour?
Asian black.
34.Favourite colour?
Navy Blue. It's the second/third time already.
35. Wear contacts?
Nope. Never intend to.
36. Siblings?
An elder and a younger sis!
37.Favourite month?
May! My birthmonth!
38. Favourite food?
Char Kway Teow!!!
39. Last movie you watched?
Can't remember, but the next movie I'd be watching would be Balls of Fury! :P
40. Favourite day of the year?
My birthday!
41. Have you ever been too shy to ask someone out?
I had difficulties trying to invite classmates to my birthday. Comprehendo's?
42. Scary movies or happy endings?
Don't they both usually go together? I'd prefer happy endings, though. :)
43. Summer or winter?
Depends on which country. Some are suited for summer, some for winter, and some so special they're still lively through both!
44. Hugs or kisses?
Hugs for now. I'll reserve the kisses for my love-to-come...
45. Do you want your friends to write back?
Their choice.
46. Who is most likely to respond?
Dunno.
47. Who is least likely to respond?
Dunno.
48. What book/magazine are you reading?
The last book I read? The Bible.
49. What's on your mouse pad?
I don't use a mousepad.
50. What did you watch on TV last night?
Last night, nuthin'. The night before, Boston Legal. (Haha)
51. What's your favourite smell?
Smell of good food! Haha, the typical Singaporean answer...
52. Do you regret ever breaking up with someone?
At this stage, it can only apply to best friends, so yeah I miss a couple of friends I've left behind in my past.
53. Time of finishing?
11.17 pm (Cool, one full hour just to finish a quiz! But hey, I was chatting with my mom inbetween, so that's just cheat.)
Isiah 54:10!!! God bless y'all!!!
Starts off with me arriving rather early at the Chin-up Bars near the Paddle Lodge. Mr. See was sitting comfortably at the mouth of the pathway, and when I walked closed enough he quickly asked what the 'meeting' yesterday was all about. I explained to him the 'messed-up' Boardroom story from the way I heard it, and his mouth slowly dropped as I went on about the messy details mentioned. Apparently the jaw-dropping was more because he thought I was reffering to Dr. Ong's Boardroom, of which people would obviously get the slaughter if it was meesed up with 'tables overturned' and 'football marks on the walls'.
I then asked him when the Round Ubin Race was taking place, of which he said 2nd of December. I then asked about what the schedule would be like, and he depicted a full-day event, which he added is only 'full-day' because the judges would have to wait for the very last boat to cross the Finishing Line before they could actually start distributing the awards.
Seeing how intense the day may be, I admitted my situation: that is, as much as I was definitely free on 2nd December and was upmost willing to give the tides of the Straits of Johor a good tackle, I would be indeed arriving back to Singapore from KL, Malaysia on 1st December after a 5-day Encounter Jesus Camp.
Understanding clearly what this would lead to, Mr. See explained to me that there was certainly no worries on getting a place and a boat in the registration and at the venue respectively, and so the only concern I should be having would be if I was physically and mentally prepared for a sudden island-span current-tackling harshful-navigating race once my body get's intuned to a relaxing-hotel mood for 5 trainingless days in KL.
I suggested I did more push-ups and sit-ups, but he rebutted saying that it'll take as much as running to keep as much fitness as possible, something dependably hard to find applicable in an outskirts-of-KL hotel. He then said he'll ask Mr. Goh for advice to see if I'd be in good condition to race, at which I nodded in agreement and proceeded to do my chin-ups.
Ghah, just like many others I've lost a bit of strength after not training for a month. My chin-up max. number has drastically dropped, and I'm not in a determined state to believe in God that I can work my way back up to tiptop shape within a month or so! Fellow Christians, please pray for me! :)
At the usual timing the lot of us were given the order to launch, of which I along with a small group had to stay with Mr. See and Mr. Goh to see which boats we'd be using today. At the end o the line, I was permitted any K2 Tiger. Partnering Ting Wei.
Hey, cool!, I thought to myself. Another new partner to try! Let's see what he's got.
We both got our stuff and went to the Upper Sheds, where we took down the Old Tiger and re-configured her to suit our needs before heading out to the pontoon to launch for a rather easy programme to start us back to the training mood. On the water, I was thankful to God that all I could remember about paddling racing-style came back rather smoothly after 250 meters or so out at bay. Steering was more or less auomatic, and my feet knew what to do if I encountered obstacle-situations in the water, especially rescuing capsized boats!
After doing a few laps and beating a few K1s along the way (not much glory for a K2 to beat K1s, but it was nevertheless a good cheap-thrill to start the season :P), I was rather impressed with how syncronized Ting Wei and I were in strokes! Well, Ting Wei would need to work a bit more on timing, and I'd need to work a little more on direction-keeping, but I must say we were rather well-opperated!
After training, Mr. Goh also told me in person that he felt we were very good on the water. Ah, another possible new chapter in my Canoeing life, eh God? Let's see how this one goes...
Once the boats were packed up, we got our shoes on and went running. Ooo, running! A long time since I ran! (a week and a half, but hey!) And where else to run but at the Dam Wall! Haha, the puns were ringing along as we jogged our way to the venue. You could hear phrases like;
"Hey, where're we running today?"
"At the Dam Wall!"
"Dam it! Dam the Dam Wall!"
And we'll all be laughing at the puns we could make up. Once at the Dam Wall, we ran a few laps on the Dam. I came in 4th place! Just behind Neil, Sheng Yi, Ray and Lucas, and just a head of Ting Wei. Once done, we went down the Wall to do a Warmdown and Debrief before eing dismissed.
Decided to rinse before leaving MacRitchie, since I was really stenched with sweat. Rather cooling, but wasn't really worth the towel. Once at home, I rested in bed with satisfaction on how training went today for an hour or more before getting up to eat lunch, after which dad called home to tell me he has left a little assignment beside the computer.
I checked and found a new Samsung printer box ready for unpacking and assembling! Hey, there's more stuff to do! Yay, activities! Haha, at least I wouldn't be bored for the next half an hour or so. Reading the manuals and diagrams, I fixed the cords and wires and cartridges respectively and downloaded the software into the main house computer.
Once everything was assembled, I congradulated myself by not wasting the activation of the house computer, simply by watching a bit of Rowan Atkinson on YouTube. (Come to think of it, a better reward would have been to play Rise of Nations. Darn...)
Ah well, nothing much left to report, just that after dinner when my parents came home, my dad gave a good inspection of the printer and approved of it's standards (Yay, dad!) and also had a chat with mom over what I'd want to do when I reach pre-/post-/University. Apparently, my parents want me to take the Air Force course when I go for National Service, but I still want to go to the Navy. Hmm, wonder how this'll turn out. :S
Well, before I sign off, might as well be faithful of a friend's request, 'ay? Enjoy;
1. Time of starting This?
10.17 pm
2. Were you named after anyone?
Both parents, really. Rae came from the first half of my dad's name, and Miguel came from the fact that it started with an 'M' like my mom's name.
3. Do you wish on stars?
Absoultely not! I trust in the Lord my Heavenly Dad for whatever a want and need and get! Let me hear an 'Amen', p'ple!
4. When did you last cry?
About a couple of months ago, when I was told by my parents that if I couldn't manage my time properly I would be stopped from joining Believers. Apparently, though, I was soon prompted by the Spirit to move on to D.A.R.E., so it doesn't make much difference anyway. But as much as I'm enjoying D.A.R.E., I really miss the people back at Prinsep. I tell you, I have never met such friendly people since the time I visited Japan! But I know very well that if God wants me to move on, it's because He has something better in store! I just pray that I won't miss Prinsep too badly in the proccess...
5. What is your favourite meat?
FISH!!! Yay, fillets!!! Horah, sashimi!!! Bravo, broth-steameds!!!
6. What is your most embarrassing CD on your shelf?
I'm not sure about CDs. But for casset tapes, there's one with a recording of what I sounded like as a young kid. The unthinkable will happen if it fellinto the wrong hands... :O
7. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you?
Hmm, Mig seems like a nice person. I'm not sure, but he's always a kind person to others, and many a times talking about God's grace. Yeah, I guess we are sort of friends.
8. Are you a daredevil?
Depends, actually. I'd take my chances if it is really important to me that I do something particularly daring.
9. How do you release anger?
Complain to God. I'd just tell Him what's bothering me, ask for better alternatives and then end of saying that no matter what happens, I'm still aware that He's still got my back and is still protecting me. Usually works for me, ;)
10.Where is your second home?
I'm at the state where I'm more or less at the same level with all the societies I'm involved in, so I'm not certain of it now.
11. Do you trust others easily?
First impressions do count, but it's rather easy to raise my respect for a person, along with raising my trust.
12. What was your favourite toy as a child?
My security blanket was a bolster I named Finchy (which still sleeps with me to this day, come to think of it), but the toys I played with most were my building blocks. Loved to build things, then get the mega fan to blow it down and see which structures could resist the winds the best! Yeah, good childhood memories...
13. What class in school do you think is totally useless?
I have absolutely no idea.
14. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Time after time, I guess. Just to keep a slightly funnier athmosphere, supposedly.
15. Have you ever been in a mosh pit?
Wazzat?
16. What do you look for in a guy/girl?
Christ-centered, bubbly, supportive, very active and whom the love of God has favour with everytime I see her! Ooo, and if she's also genre-flexible and can sing, that'll be beautiful!
17. Would you bungee jump?
I made a vow that if I ever returned to Queenstown, New Zeland during summer, I'd give the jump a try. Wonder if I'll ever fufill the promise in my lifetime at all :p
18. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Nah, too troublesome.
19. What's your favourite ice cream flavour?
Chocolate Chip/Vanila Cream/Caramel
20. What is your favourite colour?
Navy Blue! All hands on deck!
21. What is your least favourite thing?
In my possesion? A particular book that is kept high up in my shelf. I plan to throw it away soon. Maybe rip it apart first. It contains something I'd recomend no one saw or remembered.
But hey, PRAISE be to God that he's set me free to this day, so I can spread the joy of God to those I meet!!!
22. What is your favourite number?
8, the number of new beginnings!
23. What do you miss most right now?
The friends I can really use for company right now. :D
24. What are you listening to right now?
Give to the Lord by Ron Kenoly. Yay, Soul Gospel!!! (Y'know, one thing I'd want to experience in my lifetime is to see an African-American Church chior perform some joyful gospel music! That'll just be so cool!)
25. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Navy Blue! All crayons on deck!
26. Whats the weather like now?
Dark and cloudy, but cooling nough for a comfortable good night's sleep! That's a good reason why I praise the Lord for this apartment: it's positioned in such a way that natural elements make living so comfortable!
27. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Tim, about meeting him tomorrow for a good mornin' round of cycling.
28. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Gentleness. :)
29. Do you like the person who sent you this?
Yeah, I respect him as a good friend greatly. :D My face is just too cold to show it. :(
30. How are you today?
Blessed and loved by God!!!
31. Favourite drink?
Ice Lemon Tea! It's such a favourite, I usually reserve it for special ocasions.
32. Favourite alcoholic drink?
White wine. Sweet-tasting, yet doesn't loose the warm effect wine should have. Cheers.
33. Natural hair colour?
Asian black.
34.Favourite colour?
Navy Blue. It's the second/third time already.
35. Wear contacts?
Nope. Never intend to.
36. Siblings?
An elder and a younger sis!
37.Favourite month?
May! My birthmonth!
38. Favourite food?
Char Kway Teow!!!
39. Last movie you watched?
Can't remember, but the next movie I'd be watching would be Balls of Fury! :P
40. Favourite day of the year?
My birthday!
41. Have you ever been too shy to ask someone out?
I had difficulties trying to invite classmates to my birthday. Comprehendo's?
42. Scary movies or happy endings?
Don't they both usually go together? I'd prefer happy endings, though. :)
43. Summer or winter?
Depends on which country. Some are suited for summer, some for winter, and some so special they're still lively through both!
44. Hugs or kisses?
Hugs for now. I'll reserve the kisses for my love-to-come...
45. Do you want your friends to write back?
Their choice.
46. Who is most likely to respond?
Dunno.
47. Who is least likely to respond?
Dunno.
48. What book/magazine are you reading?
The last book I read? The Bible.
49. What's on your mouse pad?
I don't use a mousepad.
50. What did you watch on TV last night?
Last night, nuthin'. The night before, Boston Legal. (Haha)
51. What's your favourite smell?
Smell of good food! Haha, the typical Singaporean answer...
52. Do you regret ever breaking up with someone?
At this stage, it can only apply to best friends, so yeah I miss a couple of friends I've left behind in my past.
53. Time of finishing?
11.17 pm (Cool, one full hour just to finish a quiz! But hey, I was chatting with my mom inbetween, so that's just cheat.)
Isiah 54:10!!! God bless y'all!!!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Five, Six, Seven, Eight...
Heh, first day of the post-exam break. Suppose to last 5 days long, and if you can't find anything to do at this period of time, you've not only about to waste over a hundred and twenty-five hours of free time, but also about to suffer the painful agonies of boredom. Something I particularly feared about last night.
But I guess I'm slowly being proven wrong that my break's gonna be stale. In fact, I'm starting to see that God's sprinkling a little - or should I say a lot of - adventure into my day!
The day starts off with me changing into my tangtop and shorts for the first Canoeing training I've had in a month. Slightly excited, and slightly lethargic, I stumbled around the house trying to remember the gear I would usually bring to morning training.
While searching fora second set of clothes to change into after coming back on land, I remembered the SMSes Ben Sim sent me about an emergency meeting for 'ALL prefects' at the Boardroom today at 7.45. I wasn't sure if I was suppose to go, or if Mr. See somehow fought the Canoeist Prefects out of it, but I took the latter opinion.
But then I felt a slight sense of insecurity, and so I decided to bring a set of my uniform just in case. Getting a lift from my Dad to MacRitchie, I strolled through the paths and to the chin-up bars, remembering the small details a regular to MacRitchie would notice.
Ah, yes. The beauties of the flora and fauna of a century-old man-made reservoir. Then just ahead at the last path, there's the rough outline of Mr. See pointing out to Brandon the different kinds of cloud formations in the sky. Ah, and there's Eugine telling more lame 'Kevin Beck' jokes, and there goes Mr. See in response by sub-strangling him with his left arm. Oh, he sees me here.
Wait a mintue. He's frozen seeing me. I wonder why. Walking towards him, he walked towards me as well, but without the need of much distance he asked in a loud but gentle tone why I was present. Before I could answer, he told me that Davin called him yesterday and informed him that the Prefects couldn't go for training today. I shortly asked back if he didn't excuse us, of which he answered back that it was organised by Mr. Samuel Sim so it was best if he didn't get us into trouble with him.
After commenting that he really appreciated the fact that I made the effort to come down for training today, Mr. See dismisssed me on the spot and so I ran my way to the bus stop. I checked my watch: 6:45 a.m.. Praise the Lord for an early dad to drive me to 'work'! Once most of the passengers behind me had already got off the bus (which was when I was nearing K.A.P.), I started putting on my uniform over my tangtop and slipping my gadgets (wallet, phone, MP3, blackbook, pen, badges and tie) in their respective places.
If anyone else was watching, they'd probably be thinking I was a very late student who couldn't tell if it was Sports Day or half-day. It took about three stops before I finished the full uniform, just about another five stops before arriving at school. At the final stop, I alighted with a slight sprint to the traffic light, before dashing across Dover Road and across the AstroTurf on the mark of the Green Man.
Along the journey, one of the cooks from the SAC (canteen) was cycling to work beside me, and we both had a short conversation in Chinese, of which I was so proud of God for giving me the ability to speak even that much without making myself unclear! Praise the Lord!
Arrived at the Boardroom just in time, with Ben Sim asking where I came from, and with me telling the whole story in a jumble of mutters. I then asked around what the meeting was all about, and David Hu said it was because the Senior Admin caught the Boardroom in a tragic mess, of which Mr. Samuel Sim was going to scold us on.
Ah. So I skipped training for a scolding, I thought to myself. But I was already there anyway, so I might as well just go through it. After socialising with other Prefects in a hustling atmosphere while waiting for a few more Prefects, attendance was checked and Mr. Sim soon arrived. Lined up into our respective committees, we stood up and greeted Sir before sitting down on the floor again, this time in echo silence.
He then introduced the matter in a formal tone, which was that a member of the Senior Admin once paid a visit to the Boardroom and found it in so bad a mess she started taking photographs of it with her handphone and showing them to Dr. Ong, who later called in Mr. Sim and Mr. Bongard for an explaination of the matter. They were both then reminded that if the maintainence of the Boardroom could not be sustained, then the Boardroom would soon be taken away from us.
Mr. Sim then added a footnoting that he wasn't going to scold us but rather point out an emphasis on a lesson we have to learn. He concentrated on the matter of how we had to take care of our assigned properties and not take it for granted, or it may jolly well be taken away from us again.
He tried using an analogy of a small girl with a big appetite to show how we had to maintain a good reputation by being first and foremost a good example, of which a Chinese scholar or to couldn't understand due to such specific bombasticness. Mr. Bongard later joined in and gave comments somewhat similiar to Mr. Sim.
They both then left us with a task: To clean and re-arrange the entire Boardroom from top to bottom within the next 3 hours.
We too the job seriously yet excitedly, and so the Trans-Council came together for a minute or two to discuss how the proceedure was to be carried out. They then divided the Prefectorial Board into 4 groups, of which were the respective committees, and they assigned shifts and roles within the shifts for each group, so that not too many people would be working inside the Boardroom at any one time.
Plans were slightly mis-communicated at the start, but after a few minutes or so we started catching well. As part of the Fund Raising Committee, I was involved in the cleaning and movement of the cupboards and shelves. Also had to help try to borrow custodian equiptment from the Estate Office, but by the time I arrived they they had already given out all the stuff to the previous batch that came.
After clearing out and cleaning the shelves, we brouht them outside along with the other items so as to allow the Student Act Committee to mop the floor. With the shelves and cupboards removed, the Boardroom looked a whole lot bigger than before. The SAC and another committe then scrubbed away busily while I went to rest along with the remaining Prefects at the Round-a-bout Dumpsite where we temporarily moved the furniture of the Boardroom to.
It felt rather weird sitting on a sofa in a surrounding that could easily allow cars to run you over, but it was nevertheless a good rest ith other Prefects. Some of the enthusiastic ones tried playing Table Tennis with a real tennis ball and the Council Meeting table just to kill the time, while some were playing a sport that was a mix between Soccer and Cricket with a rubber duckie, while some were standing at the window of the Boardroom watching the other Prefects mop the floor and pretending that they were making fun of them so that they'd get paranoid, while some were like me and sat on the sofas chatting about the current matters in our lives.
Soon, the mopping was done a Phrase 1.2 of the 'Renovate My Boardroom' plan was complete. While waiting for the floor to dry so we could bring in the furniture, we had a short break at the SAC, where I tried for myself a plate of baked rice fromthe Italian stall, of which tasted rather good but wasn't exactly worth $3.
I then went to the piano, where I saw the Prefects who could play piano show their stuff. For one thing, I never knew David Hu could play the piano. For another thing, I never realy realised how geonrome-flexible Prefects were on their taste of music. It was rather cool listening to them talk about a rather big spectrum of music, let alone watch them play it on the piano.
But before I could play He's A Pirate, we had to go back to the Boardroom in a jiffy. When we came, strong volunteers were called to help in the movement of the heavy furniture, of which I volunteered for. Removing my shoes, I went into the empty Boardroom with other strong and big-sized boys and we tugged in the shelves and tables and sofas and cupboards and so on and so forth.
The place slowly took shape, and I must say it was fun rushing around the room trying to move stuff to that perfect spot for that perfect feel! Slowly, but surely, the Boardroom took a new shape, and we were soon satisfied. We actually managed to rearange the tables in such a way that now we have a new Council Meeting arrangement, which is now a hexagon UN-shape instead of the old rectangular 'Mr. Trump'-shape! It was so cool, since now our Committee/Level/Prefect/Mentor Meetings could be held in such a more modernised format!
Soon, Mr. Bongard came to inspect the place, of which he gave a rather emotionless but comforting approval. He then emphasized that we had to make sure it stays this way, and make sure our mistake never repeats itself again. Hadrian then gave a debrief by stating that Phrase 1 on the Renovation Works is now complete, and that there was more to expect such as painting the walls!
We were then dismissed, of which I went home by bus along with a group of Year 3 Prefects. Arriving back home, I read the Bible at 2 Samuel 7:18-29, a segment where King David thanks and praises God for his victories after bringing the Covenant Box back to Jerusalem. The prayer comforted me in certain uncertainties I had for the past week, and I was at great peace and love!
I then went to sleep to rest after a good workout back at school (which was pretty fun while it lasted, if you ask me :D). My mom then invited me for high-tea at the Toast Box just nearby her office after fetching my younger sister from school, and we had a good meal to ease off the afternoon.
After the meal, we went to the Christian shop a couple of storeys up and looked around for stuff, of which Morriel found a manga comic of the Gospel, while I found another Ron Kenoly CD (Yay, Soul Gospel!!!). We then went to mom's office so she could fix a problem with the computers, since Kip McGrath sent us a new programme to include into the study plan but apparently didn't send clear instructions on how to run the programme.
While waiting for her and dad to fix the problem with help from a techie-on-the-line, Morriel drew more pictures of unicorns while I listened to my new CD in glee (Hehe!). Once everything was thankfully fixed, we headed for the Botanical Gardens for dinner at the Hawker Centre underground.
After meeting up with a coleague in the midths of the meal, we finished up and left for home. And that brings us to me going to my computer and typing out this post. Hmm, I guess God's really got control over the envents for the next 5 - sorry, next 4 days of emptiness and will be filling 'em up with activities to keep me entertained after all! Nothing to worry 'bout!
Well, after a fun and exciting day of redoing the Boardroom, and a calm and relaxing night of food and soul, I guess I better turn in now.
Psalms 91!!! God bless y'all!!!
But I guess I'm slowly being proven wrong that my break's gonna be stale. In fact, I'm starting to see that God's sprinkling a little - or should I say a lot of - adventure into my day!
The day starts off with me changing into my tangtop and shorts for the first Canoeing training I've had in a month. Slightly excited, and slightly lethargic, I stumbled around the house trying to remember the gear I would usually bring to morning training.
While searching fora second set of clothes to change into after coming back on land, I remembered the SMSes Ben Sim sent me about an emergency meeting for 'ALL prefects' at the Boardroom today at 7.45. I wasn't sure if I was suppose to go, or if Mr. See somehow fought the Canoeist Prefects out of it, but I took the latter opinion.
But then I felt a slight sense of insecurity, and so I decided to bring a set of my uniform just in case. Getting a lift from my Dad to MacRitchie, I strolled through the paths and to the chin-up bars, remembering the small details a regular to MacRitchie would notice.
Ah, yes. The beauties of the flora and fauna of a century-old man-made reservoir. Then just ahead at the last path, there's the rough outline of Mr. See pointing out to Brandon the different kinds of cloud formations in the sky. Ah, and there's Eugine telling more lame 'Kevin Beck' jokes, and there goes Mr. See in response by sub-strangling him with his left arm. Oh, he sees me here.
Wait a mintue. He's frozen seeing me. I wonder why. Walking towards him, he walked towards me as well, but without the need of much distance he asked in a loud but gentle tone why I was present. Before I could answer, he told me that Davin called him yesterday and informed him that the Prefects couldn't go for training today. I shortly asked back if he didn't excuse us, of which he answered back that it was organised by Mr. Samuel Sim so it was best if he didn't get us into trouble with him.
After commenting that he really appreciated the fact that I made the effort to come down for training today, Mr. See dismisssed me on the spot and so I ran my way to the bus stop. I checked my watch: 6:45 a.m.. Praise the Lord for an early dad to drive me to 'work'! Once most of the passengers behind me had already got off the bus (which was when I was nearing K.A.P.), I started putting on my uniform over my tangtop and slipping my gadgets (wallet, phone, MP3, blackbook, pen, badges and tie) in their respective places.
If anyone else was watching, they'd probably be thinking I was a very late student who couldn't tell if it was Sports Day or half-day. It took about three stops before I finished the full uniform, just about another five stops before arriving at school. At the final stop, I alighted with a slight sprint to the traffic light, before dashing across Dover Road and across the AstroTurf on the mark of the Green Man.
Along the journey, one of the cooks from the SAC (canteen) was cycling to work beside me, and we both had a short conversation in Chinese, of which I was so proud of God for giving me the ability to speak even that much without making myself unclear! Praise the Lord!
Arrived at the Boardroom just in time, with Ben Sim asking where I came from, and with me telling the whole story in a jumble of mutters. I then asked around what the meeting was all about, and David Hu said it was because the Senior Admin caught the Boardroom in a tragic mess, of which Mr. Samuel Sim was going to scold us on.
Ah. So I skipped training for a scolding, I thought to myself. But I was already there anyway, so I might as well just go through it. After socialising with other Prefects in a hustling atmosphere while waiting for a few more Prefects, attendance was checked and Mr. Sim soon arrived. Lined up into our respective committees, we stood up and greeted Sir before sitting down on the floor again, this time in echo silence.
He then introduced the matter in a formal tone, which was that a member of the Senior Admin once paid a visit to the Boardroom and found it in so bad a mess she started taking photographs of it with her handphone and showing them to Dr. Ong, who later called in Mr. Sim and Mr. Bongard for an explaination of the matter. They were both then reminded that if the maintainence of the Boardroom could not be sustained, then the Boardroom would soon be taken away from us.
Mr. Sim then added a footnoting that he wasn't going to scold us but rather point out an emphasis on a lesson we have to learn. He concentrated on the matter of how we had to take care of our assigned properties and not take it for granted, or it may jolly well be taken away from us again.
He tried using an analogy of a small girl with a big appetite to show how we had to maintain a good reputation by being first and foremost a good example, of which a Chinese scholar or to couldn't understand due to such specific bombasticness. Mr. Bongard later joined in and gave comments somewhat similiar to Mr. Sim.
They both then left us with a task: To clean and re-arrange the entire Boardroom from top to bottom within the next 3 hours.
We too the job seriously yet excitedly, and so the Trans-Council came together for a minute or two to discuss how the proceedure was to be carried out. They then divided the Prefectorial Board into 4 groups, of which were the respective committees, and they assigned shifts and roles within the shifts for each group, so that not too many people would be working inside the Boardroom at any one time.
Plans were slightly mis-communicated at the start, but after a few minutes or so we started catching well. As part of the Fund Raising Committee, I was involved in the cleaning and movement of the cupboards and shelves. Also had to help try to borrow custodian equiptment from the Estate Office, but by the time I arrived they they had already given out all the stuff to the previous batch that came.
After clearing out and cleaning the shelves, we brouht them outside along with the other items so as to allow the Student Act Committee to mop the floor. With the shelves and cupboards removed, the Boardroom looked a whole lot bigger than before. The SAC and another committe then scrubbed away busily while I went to rest along with the remaining Prefects at the Round-a-bout Dumpsite where we temporarily moved the furniture of the Boardroom to.
It felt rather weird sitting on a sofa in a surrounding that could easily allow cars to run you over, but it was nevertheless a good rest ith other Prefects. Some of the enthusiastic ones tried playing Table Tennis with a real tennis ball and the Council Meeting table just to kill the time, while some were playing a sport that was a mix between Soccer and Cricket with a rubber duckie, while some were standing at the window of the Boardroom watching the other Prefects mop the floor and pretending that they were making fun of them so that they'd get paranoid, while some were like me and sat on the sofas chatting about the current matters in our lives.
Soon, the mopping was done a Phrase 1.2 of the 'Renovate My Boardroom' plan was complete. While waiting for the floor to dry so we could bring in the furniture, we had a short break at the SAC, where I tried for myself a plate of baked rice fromthe Italian stall, of which tasted rather good but wasn't exactly worth $3.
I then went to the piano, where I saw the Prefects who could play piano show their stuff. For one thing, I never knew David Hu could play the piano. For another thing, I never realy realised how geonrome-flexible Prefects were on their taste of music. It was rather cool listening to them talk about a rather big spectrum of music, let alone watch them play it on the piano.
But before I could play He's A Pirate, we had to go back to the Boardroom in a jiffy. When we came, strong volunteers were called to help in the movement of the heavy furniture, of which I volunteered for. Removing my shoes, I went into the empty Boardroom with other strong and big-sized boys and we tugged in the shelves and tables and sofas and cupboards and so on and so forth.
The place slowly took shape, and I must say it was fun rushing around the room trying to move stuff to that perfect spot for that perfect feel! Slowly, but surely, the Boardroom took a new shape, and we were soon satisfied. We actually managed to rearange the tables in such a way that now we have a new Council Meeting arrangement, which is now a hexagon UN-shape instead of the old rectangular 'Mr. Trump'-shape! It was so cool, since now our Committee/Level/Prefect/Mentor Meetings could be held in such a more modernised format!
Soon, Mr. Bongard came to inspect the place, of which he gave a rather emotionless but comforting approval. He then emphasized that we had to make sure it stays this way, and make sure our mistake never repeats itself again. Hadrian then gave a debrief by stating that Phrase 1 on the Renovation Works is now complete, and that there was more to expect such as painting the walls!
We were then dismissed, of which I went home by bus along with a group of Year 3 Prefects. Arriving back home, I read the Bible at 2 Samuel 7:18-29, a segment where King David thanks and praises God for his victories after bringing the Covenant Box back to Jerusalem. The prayer comforted me in certain uncertainties I had for the past week, and I was at great peace and love!
I then went to sleep to rest after a good workout back at school (which was pretty fun while it lasted, if you ask me :D). My mom then invited me for high-tea at the Toast Box just nearby her office after fetching my younger sister from school, and we had a good meal to ease off the afternoon.
After the meal, we went to the Christian shop a couple of storeys up and looked around for stuff, of which Morriel found a manga comic of the Gospel, while I found another Ron Kenoly CD (Yay, Soul Gospel!!!). We then went to mom's office so she could fix a problem with the computers, since Kip McGrath sent us a new programme to include into the study plan but apparently didn't send clear instructions on how to run the programme.
While waiting for her and dad to fix the problem with help from a techie-on-the-line, Morriel drew more pictures of unicorns while I listened to my new CD in glee (Hehe!). Once everything was thankfully fixed, we headed for the Botanical Gardens for dinner at the Hawker Centre underground.
After meeting up with a coleague in the midths of the meal, we finished up and left for home. And that brings us to me going to my computer and typing out this post. Hmm, I guess God's really got control over the envents for the next 5 - sorry, next 4 days of emptiness and will be filling 'em up with activities to keep me entertained after all! Nothing to worry 'bout!
Well, after a fun and exciting day of redoing the Boardroom, and a calm and relaxing night of food and soul, I guess I better turn in now.
Psalms 91!!! God bless y'all!!!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
What Time Is It...
At last.
It's all over.
The Final Common Test, is finally over.
Good, now we can all relax and enjoy the next 5 days of freedom to ourselves. But I must say, God was truely with me during the paper, if not truely with the lot of us! The papers were a lot more easier than expected, and I can confidently say I can make good grades for this test, most likely even heading my targets! Ah, well. It's now in the markers' hands, so the only thing I can pray for at the momment is that God would give favour to the markers. :P
Anyway, I doubt I can type out all I missed out for the past 2 or so weeks, so I'll just try to draw them out. (Hehe, a picture is worth a thousand words...) I'll try to upload as many as possible, see if you can guess what the events were (take note, I'm not good in drawing faces accurately, appologies...):
.JPG)
[3 more pictures to upload...]
Ah, well. Better get rested for tomorrow! Wouldn't want to miss my first Canoeing training in a month! Ah, I'll get to meet StingRay again! But wonder who's gonna be my new partner...
John 14:11-14!!! God bless y'all!!!
It's all over.
The Final Common Test, is finally over.
Good, now we can all relax and enjoy the next 5 days of freedom to ourselves. But I must say, God was truely with me during the paper, if not truely with the lot of us! The papers were a lot more easier than expected, and I can confidently say I can make good grades for this test, most likely even heading my targets! Ah, well. It's now in the markers' hands, so the only thing I can pray for at the momment is that God would give favour to the markers. :P
Anyway, I doubt I can type out all I missed out for the past 2 or so weeks, so I'll just try to draw them out. (Hehe, a picture is worth a thousand words...) I'll try to upload as many as possible, see if you can guess what the events were (take note, I'm not good in drawing faces accurately, appologies...):
[3 more pictures to upload...]Ah, well. Better get rested for tomorrow! Wouldn't want to miss my first Canoeing training in a month! Ah, I'll get to meet StingRay again! But wonder who's gonna be my new partner...
John 14:11-14!!! God bless y'all!!!
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